Shutter release



Dec. 18, 1945. D. c. HARVEY 2,391,157

SHUTTER RELEASE Filed Jan. 4, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Doug/0&5 C. Harvey INVENTOR 1 7 I WW A TTORNF YS Dec. 18, 1945. D. c. HARVEY 2,391,157

SHUTTER RELEASE Filed Jan. 4, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dou lass C- Ha/"ve g INVENTOR WW BY A TTORNE YS Patented Dec. 18, 1945 SHUTTER RELEASE Douglass 0. Harvey, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y.,'a. corporationot New Jersey Application January 4, 1944, Serial No. 516,919

8 Claims.

This invention relates to photography and more particularly to a latch for camera shutters. One object of my invention is to provide a shutter release which is suitable for use in a shutter which moves in only one direction and which will hold the shutter parts in a fixed position before and after exposure in such a manner that the shutter may be tensioned. Another object of my invention is to provide a shutter release structure which requires only extremely light pressure on the shutter trigger to release the shutter. Another object oi my invention is to provide a shutter with a releasing mechanism which operates smoothly and permits the shutter to function quietly and evenly. Other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

Coming now to the drawings in which like reference characters denote like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a camera. including a shutter release constructed in accordance with and embodying s. preierred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the camera shown in Fig. 1, parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View through the corners. shown in Fig. l and taken on line i i-- 3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of a portion of the spring tensioning device used for energifing the shutter;

5 is a fragmentary detail section through c portion of the winding clutch shown in Fig. i;

Fig. o is a schematic showing of a preferred form of optical system which may be used with a camera, utilizing e. shutter releese constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged top plan view or" a portion of the shutter releasing mechanism, the parts being shown in e. position they assumed before an exposure is made;

Fig. s is 2. front plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig.7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line i2i2 of 3.

Fig. 1G is 2. view similar to Fig. 7 out with the parts. shown in the position they assume after the shutter has been released and before the shutter reaches its position of rest and Fig, i1 is a view similar to Fig. Iii? but with the parts the position they assume just be= fore an exposure is completed.

In shutters of the type in which e shutter mechanism, which may include one or more shutter leaves, swings through a circular path in one direction for making an exposure, it is desirable to provide a shutter release mechanism in which the shutter partsmay always be held in a hired position when not in use. To accurately repeat a predetermined time of exposure with a. known type of spring, the spring must drive the shutter mechanism through exactly the same path each time the shutter operates. It is also desirable to have a shutter release mechanism which requires but little pressure on, the trigger to release the shutter and to provide a shutter release which does not require any precautions on the part of the operator in operating the trigger in order to maintain exposures of the same duration.

One of the ways in which a shutter can be readily made to release with a very light pressure is to move an abutment away from a. mechanism driving pin and my present invention is directed to such a. release and especially to the provision of a means for replacing the abutment in the path of said pin before it completes its swing through its fixed path. In addition, I provide a cushioning means which not only brings the shutter mechanism to rest gently, but in addition reduces the noises which would otherwise occur when the rapidly moving pin strikes a. stop.

A. camera and shutter of the type in which my improved latch may be employed to advantage is shown in application, Serial No. 125,795, for Reflecting camera, in the name of Joseph l/lihalyi, and filled January 5, 1942. As shown in this application, the camera body may consist of a boxlike housing i including a front wall 2 supporting a lens mount 53 which may carry a suitable objective i. The rear wall 5 of the camera. may he hinged at E and may be provided with a latch i so that the camera. back may be swung open to insert and remove fflm and film spools carried by a supply film spool chamber 8 and a take-up film spool chamber 5]. An exposure frame ii! defining the size of the exposure may he provided between the film chambers E3 and it. On the outside of the camera body i there may be a winding knob i i of the usual type to move the film from the supply chamber 23 to the take-up chamber e, and film numerals of the film backing paper may be viewed through the usual transparent window l2 covered by a red or green filter.

On the top wall iii of the camera hotly i,I prefer to place the shutter trigger it and e, shuts ter tensioning knob iii. As indicated in 3, the objective normally forms an image on a "film F stretched across the exposure frame it while an exposure is being made. However, a concave reflector iii normally lies between the exposure frame I and the objective 3, this refiector serving both as an image forming element and as a field element. In other words,

the reflector it has sufiicient power to form an aerial image indicated by the broken line A in Fig. '7 between the camera objective 4 and the exposure frame it. This image lies comparatively close to the film and maybe reviewed by the mirror Hi, the erecting prism H8 and the eyepiece HS when the shutter MI is in the meition shown in Fig. 7.

As also indicated in Fig. 3 the optical element is may be carried by a movable member 2i which in this instance is in the form of a truncated cone pivotally mounted on the post 23. A pin 43d carried by member 2! may swing through a circular path and; in this instance. a path of 360 each time an exposure is made. v

A spring 25 furnishes power to the shutter, this spring being anchored at one end 26 to the winding knob iii and being anchored at the other end 26' to the frame 24. There is a gear 29 on a stud 23 carried by the shaft 2?. Gear 29 meshes with teeth 35 carried by the shutter member. Each time the knob i is turned to tension the spring 25, a pawl 33, ratchet 86 and a one-way clutch consisting of spaced spring pawls-afl and teeth 8! of the ratchet 341 place the spring 26 under tension. When the trigger i4 is depressed the shutter may swing through its path of movement and be caught'by my improved type of latch mechanism after a single of the spring latch 45 which is bent upwardly at 6'8 and which is bent across the rigid pivoted latch element d2. This spring latch element is provided with a downwardly extending latch element 50 engaging the pivoted latch 62 all as shown in Fig. 9. From thisflgure it will be apparent that when the parts are in the position shown, if the trigger id is moved, the pivoted exposure has been made in a marmer which will be set forth indetail hereinafter.

In Fig. 6 a modification of the camera shown in Fig. 3 is diagrammatically indicated. In this form the objective 4 is mounted on the camera 5 as in the first embodiment of my invention. A movable member or shutter l2! diflers from the first-described embodiment since the optical element H6 may be formed directly from the metal of which the element I2! is made and,

' since the reflecting element I6 is concave and spherical in shape, it can be readily formed, polished and platedto give the desired results without adding the weight of a separate mirror l8 as indicated in F18. 3.

Coming now particularly to my invention, best shown in Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, the shutter trigger l4 operates a double latch mechanism for controlling the movement of the shutter the parts are in theposition shown in Figs.

and 8, the shutter pin 44 has a path which will intersect that of the flange 43 so that the pin 44 will either strike this flange or be held by it according to the position of the shutter plate 2|.

In order to move the rigid pivoted latch element 42 from its pin holding position of Fig. 7 r

to release the pin 44 for movement in the direction shown by the arrow to make an exposure, I provide on the spring latch element 45 a second spring latch which may consist of a part latch 62 will be moved because of the downwardly turned lip 50 on the spring latch element 35. However, if the spring latch should be pressed upwardly, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 9, the turned-over edge 50 would raise above the rigid latch element 62 and permit the spring $6 to move this latch element alone to its rest position as indicated in Fig. ll. l

The releasing action of the spring latch 4 just described takes place automatically in the following manner. Since the spring latch 45 has a downwardly-formed cam surface 55, and since this cam surface 56 never moves out of the path of pin 44 as indicated in Fig. 10, when the shutter release l4 has been actuated, the pin 44 swings through its path and upon nearly completing its path it will strike the cam 55 which accomplishes two useful functions.

The first of these functions is that as the pin strikes the cam 55, as indicated in Fig. 8, the spring latch element 35 is moved upwardly by the pin 50 from the rigidlatch element 52, thus permitting the spring be to swing this latch element 42 into its Fig. 11 position. Further movement of the pin 44, therefore, brings this pin up against the trigger latch element 43 and stops the shutter after it has completed one revolution. The second useful function that the spring latch 45 performs is that of bringing the shutter gently to rest. Since the shutter spring 25 drives the pin 44 quite rapidly the pin is moving at a relatively high speed when it strikes the cam 55. As this cam permits the pin to move under it most of this force on the spring actuating pin 44 is absorbed so that when pin 44 passes from beneath the flange 55 it is moving quite slowly and it will strike the stop 43 gently and with very little noise. In addition, of course, the spring cam 55 must slow up the pin 44 sufilciently to permit the released latch 42 to swing back to its Fig. 11 position beforethe pin reaches the flange 43.

By providing a comparatively light spring 38 (as shown in Fig. 6) for returning the trigger M to its rest position, it is ecessary to overcome only very light pressure in operating the trigger it. Consequently a shutter constructed as above described may be released-very gently and without any liability of having the camera shake.

It should be particularly noticed that it is immaterial whether an operator presses the trigger i4 and releases it before an exposure is completed or whether he holds the trigger M in 8. released position, because irrespective of the position of the trigger l4 the spring cam 55 always lies in the path of the pin 44. Therefore. if the trigger is returned to its position of rest before the pin 44 completes its movement, the latch element flange 43 will already be positioned and the only function of the spring latch 55 will be to cushion the blow which'would otherwise be struck by the pin 44 against the flange 43. However, if the operator should hold the trigger in its releasing position, as in Fig. 10, the pin 44 by striking the spring cam 45 would release the latch 50 and permit the rigid latch 42 to returTi to its Fig. 11 position thus stopping the pin when it reaches the flange. When in this position, it the trigger is released, its spring 29 (Fig. 6) will swing the spring latch 50 until it a ainengages the edge of the pivoted latch 42.

While I have described apreferred embodiment of my improved form of shutter latch mechanism and a typical shutter on which it may be mounted, it is obvious that the shutter mechanism itself may vary quite widely since my release mechanism is applicable to any shutter including the mechanism in which a pin moves plate through a fixed path by the mechanism and spring. said shutter release comprising a pivotallymounted latch element, a spring tending to hold said latch element in a position of rest engaging the pin at one end of its fixed path, a pivotally mounted trigger, a springv latch carried by the trigger, interengaging parts on the pivotally mounted latch and spring latch for normally moving the pivotally mounted latch with the trigger, a cam carried by the spring latch, said cam lying in the path of movement of the pin movable with the shutter plate, and adapted to be engaged and moved by the pin for releasing the interengaging parts of the pivoted and spring latch elements, whereby said pivoted latch element may be moved by its spring to its normal position of rest.

2. A shutter release for shutters of the type including a shutter plate, a mount on which the shutter plate may move through a fixed path, mechanism for moving the shutter plate including a power spring, a pin movable withthe shutter plate through a fixed path by the mechanism and spring, said shutter release comprising a pivotally mounted latch element, a spring tending to hold said latch element in a position of rest engaging the pin, a pivotally mounted trigger, a spring latch carried by the trigger, interengaging parts on the pivotally mounted latch and on the spring latch for normally moving the pivotally mounted latch with the trigger, a cam carried by the spring latch, said cam lying in the path of movement of the pin movable with the shutter plate, and adapted to be engaged and moved by the pin for releasing the interengaging parts or the pivoted and spring latch elements, said cam being so shaped relative to the pin as to slow up the movement of said pin as it engages the cam and releases the interengaging parts of the spring and pivoted latch, elements, thereby cushioning the blow of the pin against the latch element.

3. A shutter release for shutters oi the type including a shutter plate, a mount on which the shutte plate may move through a fixed path, mechanism for moving the shutter plate including a power spring, a pin movable with the shutter plate through a fixed path by said mechanism and spring, said shutter release comprising a pivotally mounted latch element, a spring tending to hold said latch element in a position otrest engaging the pin, a pivotally mounted trigger, a shaft on which the trigger is mounted, said shaftconstituting the pivotal mount on which the .pivotally mounted atch may freely turn, a spring latch carried by the trigger, interengaging parts on the pivotally mounted latch andspring latch for normally moving the pivotally mounted latch with the trigger and spring latch about the shaft, a cam carried by the spring latch, said cam lying in the path of movement of the pin movable with the shutter plate, and adapted to be engaged and moved by the pin moving through its path for releasing the interengaging parts of the pivoted and spring latch elements whereby said pivoted latch element may swing about the trigger shaft and independently of the trigger and may be moved by its spring to its normal position of rest.

4. A shutter release for shutters of the type including a shutter plate, a mount on which the shutter plate may turn through a fixed path, mechanism for moving the shutter plate including a power spring, a pin carried by the shutter plate and movable therewith through a fixed path, said shutter release comprising a pivotally mounted latch element including a downwardly extending pin engaging flange, a spring tending to hold said latch element in a position of rest with the flange engaging the pin when at one end ofits fixed path, a pivotally mounted trigger, a spring latch carried by the trigger, interengaging parts on the pivotally mounted latch and spring latch for normally moving the latch elements with the trigger, a cam carried by the spring latch, said cam lying in the path of movement of the pin carried by the shutte plate, and adapted to be engaged and moved by the pin for releasing the interengaging parts of the pivoted and spring latch elements, whereby said pivoted latch element may be moved by its spring to its normal position of rest with the pin engaging the downwardly extending flange of the pivotally mounted latch element.

5. In a camera shutter, the combination with a shutter plate, a pivotal mount on which said shutter plate may swing in one direction, a spring for swinging said shutter plate, a mechanism for tensioning said spring, a pin carried by said shutter plate and movable therewith through a circular path, a trigger, a latch pivotally mounted and spring pressed into a position to engage said pin, a spring latch normally engaging the pivoted latch for moving the pivoted latch by the trigger when releasing the pin, and means carried by the spring latch and lying in the path of movement of the pin for releasing the pivotally mounted latch from its normal engagement with the spring latch by the moving of said pin through its circular path of movement, whereby said latch may return under the impulse of its spring to a position to eng ge said pin.

6. In a camera shutter, the combination with a shutter .plate, a pivotal mount on which said shutter plate my swing in one direction, spring means for swinging said shutter plate, a mechanism for tensioning the spring, a pin carried by the shutter plate and movable therewith through a circular path, a trigger, a latch pivotally mounted and spring pressed into a position to normally engage said pin, a spring latch normally eng ging the pivoted latch for moving the pivoted latch by the trigger for releasing the pin, and means carried by the spring latch and lying in the path of movement of the pin for releasing the pivotally mounted latch from its normal position engaging the spring latch by said pin swinging through its circular path, whereby said latch may return under the impulse of its spring to a position to engage said pin, said means for releasing the pivotally mounted latch including a shock absorbertor slowing up the movement of said pin and enabling the released pivotally mounted latch to move to a position to engage said pin in time to catch said moving pin after an exposure-making movement.

7. In a camera shutter, the combination with a shutter plate, a pivotal mount on which said shutter plate may turn in one direction, a spring for turning said shutter plate, a mechanism for tensioning said spring, a -pin carried by said shutter plate and movable therewith through a circular path, a trigger, a latch pivotally mounted and spring-pressed into a position to engage the pin, a spring latch normally engaging the pivregardless of the position of the shutter trigger.

8. In a camera shutter, the combination with a shutter plate, of a, pivotal mount on which said of movement of the pin in all positions of the."

shutter plate, mechanism for tensioning sail spring, a pin carried by said plate and movabll therewith through a circular path, a trigger, a latch pivotally mounted and spring pressed int a position to engage said pin, a spring latch having a normal position engaging the pivoted latch for moving the pivoted latch by the trigger for releasing the pin, and means carried by the spring latch and lying in the path of movement of the pin for releasing the pivotally mounted latch from its normal position engaging the spring latch by the pin moving with the shutter plate through its circular path of movement whereby said latch may return under the impulse of its spring to a position to engage said pin, said means comprising a spring latch arm having an angu-- larly disposed flange extending across the path trigger, and positioned to be engaged and moved by the pin as it swings with the shutter in making an exposure.

DOUGLASS C. HARVEY. 

